Cool critters: A spotted skunk that does handstands. Yes. Really.

When it comes to skunks in our region, it’s not just black and white.

Black fur with white stripes – we all know the striped skunk. But stripey has a smaller, lesser-known cousin that lives in Washington, too. Cute as a polka-dot button, he’s also a gymnast. We’ll call him spotty. Should you ever encounter one in the wild, you might wonder if you’re hallucinating.

Two skunk species live in Washington and Idaho – the common striped version that many of us see or smell in the neighborhood and the western spotted skunk that sticks to forest edges, rocky outcrops and areas with dense ground cover. Stripey is roughly the size of a domestic housecat, while spotty is about a fifth of that size, more like a tree squirrel.

Spotty also displays a unique pattern of white blotches on its forehead, cheeks and rear end.

The western spotted skunk isn’t at home in urban areas the way its striped counterpart is, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“It is not as tolerant of human activity as the striped skunk,” the agency states on its website, adding that its range includes southeastern counties such as Garfield, Asotin and Columbia, along with more remote parts of Western Washington.

Like stripey, spotty sprays a foul-smelling fluid when threatened. But how spotty goes about doing this has far more pizzazz.

When stressed by a potential attacker, the spotted skunk will spring into a handstand, puff up its tail and fan out its two hind legs into a V. Then, if the attacker doesn’t back off, the skunk will walk upside down on its forepaws and “approach the potential predator, appearing much larger than it really is,” biologist Jerry Dragoo of the University of New Mexico said. If the handstand charge doesn’t stop the aggressor, the skunk will spray its trademark scent, he explained.

Talk about raising a stink.

Dragoo is a mephitologist, meaning an expert on skunks. He runs the website titled “Dragoo Institute for the Betterment of Skunks and Skunk Reputations.” Not surprisingly, he’s a big fan of the little stinkers he researches. They play an important role in the food chain, feeding on everything from mice, rats and voles to grasshoppers and wasps, he said.

“Skunks are an integral part of the environment and a fascinating component of the earth’s biodiversity,” Dragoo wrote in a 2009 study published in Exotic Animal Practice Veterinary Clinics. “Their behavioral idiosyncrasies, made possible by their unique method of defense, make them entertaining to watch in the wild and their beneficial habits far outweigh any potential negative attributes.”

It’s hard to know how many spotted skunks exist. After all, they’re reclusive, nocturnal and hard to track – so much so that only recently did scientists discover that seven of these hand-standing species live in North America, not four as was previously believed. Three spotted skunk species inhabit the western portion of the continent, three hail from east of the Rockies, and one is from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, according to a 2021 study published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Researchers also found that western spotted skunks have a larger home range than those of the eastern variety.

This time of year, our region’s western spotty gives birth to around five babies in an underground nest lined with grass and other vegetation, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A month after birth, the youngsters leave the den with their mother to start foraging for food. By four months old, they can plant their forepaws on the ground and kick their hindlegs up with the agility of an Olympic gymnast.

Unless the approaching foe – a coyote, fox, bobcat or human, perhaps – backs off, the tiny critter with white spots and dark, inquisitive eyes will blast its infamous odor with ninja-like fury.

And regardless of species, “young skunks are more likely to spray than more experienced skunks,” according to the Fish and Wildlife Department .

All it takes is a single squirt to have an impact. Loaded with sulfur and potent enough to be smelled a half-mile away, the scent can linger for several days.

Then again, skunks don’t care about winning gold medals. They’re just trying to survive.